February 24, 2022, 11:11 AM
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Ever seen a bird with a bright blue beak? Well, now you have.
Black-and-yellow broadbill
The Black-and-yellow broadbill looks like a cartoon, and could probably pass off as a Pokémon.
It seems impossible to miss it in the forest, with striking yellow feathers contrasting its black body, a white collar, big round yellow eyes, and a bright blue beak.
Image courtesy of Kenneth Cheong.
Image courtesy of Kenneth Cheong.
Although the Black-and-yellow broadbill was described by Stamford Raffles in 1822 using specimens from Singapore, the bird is no longer found here.
Its geographical range in Southeast Asia includes Singapore's neighbours, such as Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand.
The bird primarily feeds on insects, and is listed as being "Near Threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Photographer Kenneth Cheong came across the bird in Fraser’s Hill, in a mountain village in Pahang on Jan. 26.
He told Mothership that the bird has not been seen locally due to habitat loss.
"There just isn't enough forest for it to survive locally," Cheong said.
Locally extinct for nearly 150 years
Yong Ding Li, an Asia programme manager for migratory bird conservation at Birdlife International, told Mothership that the Black-and-yellow broadbill has been extinct in Singapore for nearly 150 years.
Yong said that broadbills are rainforest birds that live in the high canopy of forests, usually found at least 10m aboveground.
"They need good forests with tall trees," he said.
He added that they are "reasonably common" in Malaysia, and that he has seen them in the thick jungles of Malaysia and Thailand, as well as in some forest patches close to Kuala Lumpur.
Broadbills in Singapore
There are two other vibrantly-coloured species of broadbills in Singapore that are former residents.
Now, both species are very rare non-breeding visitors.
The Black-and-red broadbill has only been spotted a handful of times in the past decade, according to the Singapore Birds Project.
The bird is unmistakable -- with bright maroon feathers on its underparts, coupled with a distinctive turquoise beak that transitions into yellow near its base.
Image courtesy of Francis Yap.
The Green broadbill was most recently seen last year, but records of it are even more scarce.
It is suspected that the rare bird made an appearance at Pulau Ubin due to its proximity to Malaysia.
Image by Trevor Teo.
Top images by Kenneth Cheong.
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